1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a seat structure in an automobile including front and rear seats disposed at a longitudinal distance on a vehicle body floor.
2. Description of the Related Art
A seat structure is already proposed in which in order to retract a rear seat of an automobile into a position flush with a vehicle body floor, for example, a recess Fg for retraction of the seat is defined in the vehicle body floor at the rear of the rear seat Srxe2x80x2, as shown in FIG. 9, and the rear seat Srxe2x80x2 with a seat back tilted down and folded onto a seat portion is turned around through 180xc2x0 and accommodated within the recess Fg, and in this state, a bottom f of the seat portion is used as a portion of a rear floor surface (for example, see French Patent Specification No. 881601).
The above proposed seat structure suffers from a problem that it is required not only that the seat back in a standing position be disposed in a rearward-facing attitude, but also that a large recess capable of accommodating the entire rear seat in a folded-up state be especially defined in a portion of the vehicle body floor immediately behind the rear seat, thus making the structure of the vehicle body floor correspondingly complicated.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a seat structure in an automobile, wherein the above problem can be overcome, and moreover, the arrangement of the rear seat can be diversified.
To achieve the above object, according to a first aspect and feature of the present invention, there is provided a seat structure in an automobile including front and rear seats disposed at a longitudinal distance therebetween a vehicle body floor, wherein the vehicle body floor includes a front floor section having the front seat disposed thereon, and a rear floor section which is disposed at the rear of the front floor section and which is higher in level than the front floor section, and rearward-extending support arms are provided at lower portions of sides of the front seat. The rear seat is comprised of a seat portion which is connected at a front end thereof to tip portions of the support arms and pivotally turnable between a predetermined tilted-down position and a standing position in which the seat position is righted forwards, and a seat back which is connected at a lower end thereof to a front end of the rear floor section and pivotally turned between a predetermined standing position and a tilted-down position in which the seat back is tilted down forwards. A receiving surface for supporting the seat portion lying in the tilted-down position is formed between the front floor section and the rear floor section, and when the rear seat is in service, the seat portion is retained in the tilted-down position, and the seat back is retained in the standing position.
With the first feature, when the rear seat is in service, a clearance enough for the feet of an occupant on the rear seat to be inserted between the front end of the seat portion and a back surface of the front seat lying in the tilted-down position, can be ensured by properly selecting the length of the support arms, whereby the occupant can sit unstrainedly in a forward-facing attitude on the rear seat. When the rear seat is not in service, even if a large recess for retraction of the rear seat is not defined in the vehicle body floor, the rear seat can be retracted compactly in a connected relation to the rear floor section in a state in which the seat back lying in the tilted-down position has been superposed on an upper surface of the seat portion. Therefore, the baggage chamber space is enlarged, and the floor structure is simplified. Further, the standing positions and the tilted-down positions of the seat portion and the seat back of the rear seat can be selected independently and hence, the seat arrangement is diversified and the convenience is enhanced, correspondingly.
According to a second aspect and feature of the present invention, in addition to the first feature, when the rear seat is not in service, the seat back lying in the tilted-down position is superposed on an upper surface of the seat portion likewise lying in the tilted-down position, and in this state, the back surface of the seat back is substantially flush with the rear floor section. With this feature, when the rear seat with the seat back in the tilted-down position being superposed on the seat portion likewise in the tilted-down position is not in service, a full-flat and wide rear floor section is defined, which contributes to a further enlargement of the baggage chamber space and the enhancement in convenience.
According to a third aspect and feature of the present invention, there is provided a seat structure in an automobile including front and rear seats disposed at a longitudinal distance therebetween on a vehicle body floor, wherein the vehicle body floor includes a front floor section having the front seat disposed thereon, and a rear floor section which is disposed at the rear of the front floor section and which is higher in level than the front floor section. The rear seat is comprised of a seat portion which is connected at a front end thereof to inner walls of the vehicle body at the rear of the front seat and pivotally turnable between a predetermined tilted-down position and a standing position in which the seat position is righted forwards, and a seat back which is connected at a lower end thereof to a front end of the rear floor section and pivotally turnable between a predetermined standing position and a tilted-down position in which the seat back is tilted down forwards. A receiving surface for supporting the seat portion lying in the tilted-down position is formed between the front floor section and the rear floor section, and when the rear seat is in service, the seat portion is retained in the tilted-down position, and the seat back is retained in the standing position.
With the third feature, when the rear seat is in service, a clearance enough for the feet of an occupant on the rear seat to be inserted between the front end of the seat portion lying in the tilted-down position and a back surface of the front seat can be ensured by properly selecting the position of connection of the inner walls of the vehicle body to the front end of the seat portion. Moreover, it is not required that support arms on the seat portion be extended from the front seat in order to ensure such clearance. Therefore, the occupant can sit unstrainedly in a forward-facing attitude on the rear seat without being obstructed by the arms. In addition, when the rear seat is not in service, even if a large recess for retraction of the rear seat is not defined in the vehicle body floor, the rear seat can be retracted compactly in a connected relation to the rear floor section in a state in which the seat back lying in the tilted-down position has been superposed on an upper surface of the seat portion. Therefore, the baggage chamber space is enlarged, and the floor structure is simplified. Further, the standing positions and the tilted-down positions of the seat portion of the rear seat and the seat back can be selected independently and hence, the seat arrangement is diversified and the convenience is enhanced, correspondingly.
According to a fourth aspect and feature of the present invention, in addition to the third feature, when the rear seat is not in service, the seat back lying in the tilted-down position is superposed on an upper surface of the seat portion likewise lying in the tilted-down position, and in this state, the back surface of the seat back is substantially flush with the rear floor section. With this feature, when the rear seat with the seat back in the tilted-down position being superposed on the seat portion likewise in the tilted-down position is not in service, a full-flat and wide rear floor section is defined, which contributes to a further enlargement of the baggage chamber space and the enhancement in convenience.